Fighting Obesity in Schools By Changing Eating Habits of Students

Fighting Obesity in Schools By Changing Eating Habits of Students

Summary

• • -Re-Planted one garden at Oak Brook Elementary that was eaten by deer.
  • -Working to secure funds for a high tunnel at Oak Brook Elementary.
  • -Purchasing screened top soil for Flowertown Elementary through the Boeing grant.
  • -Meeting with all cafeteria managers for a cooking class at Ashley Ridge High.
  • -Developing a cook book for all the schools.
  • -Developing a garden book, "School Gardens for Dummies". A step by step approach to assist the teacher that has been assigned the "garden" project for the school.

Objectives/Performance Targets

1. Insure the five schools in my district that recieved $5,000 grants from DHEC are succesful in building and maintaing a school garden. 2. Collaberate with Clemson University vegetable research center to provide assistance in finding local farmers to mentor these five schools. 3. Coordinate with Dr. Karen Hall and Amy Dabbs, our local Master Gardener instructors, who will teach 22 selected teachers, one from each school, in the Master Gardener curriculum. The schools will pay the $300 tuition for each teacher to complete this training which will insure all schools have a "Buy In" to the garden program. 4. I will help guide each school through the GAP certification process since I have already completed this step.

Accomplishments/Milestones

I have coordinated with my district superintendent, Joe Pye, on establishing gardens at each of the 22 schools in our district. He is in favor of this proposal. I am currently working with Dr. Olivia Thompson, Assistant Professor of Public Health at The College of Charleston who is receiving grant money from Boeing, and providing $24,000 to our district to implement and train staff in establishing and maintaining these gardens. I am working with Jennifer Moore, MPH at MUSC Children's Hospital which is affiliated with The Boeing Center for Children's Wellness. They are providing $1,000 to ten of our district schools for establishing a school wellness committee. I had 22 cafeteria managers, a local chef, the Department of Education Nutritionist in our school cafeteria to teach all the managers how to prepare collard greens, turnips, rutabagas, in a way that kids will eat them and still stay within the guidelines of the USDA for schools.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

The cooking class for the cafeteria managers was a huge success and created a better bond between our Director of Cafeterias, Dr. Ray Bahadori, and the cafeteria managers. We have started a wellness committee at 10 of the schools which will result in $1,000 per school for starting the committee. I have had positive feedback from our Superintindent on creating the gardens at all of our schools and the impact on the kids who start eating fresh produce. We have seen a 650 percent increase in vegetable sales over last year from our fresh produce that is grown on campus, sold to the cafeteria, and consumed by the kids and faculty.